Floor mounted rug display rack



March 31, 1959 L. H; BEST 2,879,898

' FLOOR MOUNTED RUG DISPLAY RACK Filed Nov. 10, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 11: van for Leon if. Besi- .Morr? egki' March 31, 1959. 1.. H. BEST FLOOR MOUNTED RUG DISPLAY RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 10, 1954 NEW mmww .d i

T.. m w m United States Patent FLOOR MOUNTED RUG DISPLAY RACK Leon H. Best, Galva, Ill., assignor to John H. Best & Sons, Inc., Galva, Ill., a corporation of Illinois 7 Application November 10, 1954, Serial No. 468,026

3 Claims. (Cl. 211-45) This invention relates to display stands for rugs whereby a stack of rugs may be supported in a convenient and readily accessible position for display to a customer.

In the display of rugs in retail stores, several different kinds of display arrangements are conventionally em ployed. In some instances the rugs individually are suspended in vertical positions, while in other instances the rugs are placed on a stack on a supporting stand in a generally horizontal position so that rugs may be turned back one by one for successive display to the customer. It is to this second general mode of display that the present invention relates, and the primary object of the present invention is to enable a stack of rugs or rug samples to be supported in such a position that the salesman may readily grasp and turn back the samples, and so that the samples will be in a novel and unusually convenient position for examination by the customer.

More specifically, it is an object of the present inven tion to afford a rug display stand of the aforesaid character in which the required floor space is minimized, and related objects are to afford such an arrangement in which the stack of rugs may be arranged in a downwardly and forwardly sloping relationship so as to be more conveniently accessible to the salesman who must turn back the rugs, and to locate the rugs in a better position to be viewed by the customer.

Further and related objects are to afford a rug display stand of the aforesaid character in which an unusually neat and readily accessible display arrangement of the rugs may be attained, and to afford means whereby unevenly arranged rear edges of the rugs may be concealed within the body of the stand.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front perspective view of a display stand embodying the features of the invention and having a stack of rugs mounted in position thereon;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the stand;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken from front to rear through the stand shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the stand taken partially in section to show details of internal construction; and

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view taken partially in vertical section to illustrate further details of internal con-v struction.

- For purposes of disclosure, the invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a floor-mounted rug display stand girdles 21 2,879,898 Patented Mar. 31, 185.)

10 that is generally rectangular in plan-form, and which affords a narrow at top display and supporting surface 11 near its rear edge which merges with a downwardly sloping supporting and display surface 12 upon which a plurality of rugs R arranged in a stack may be supported and secured in a downwardly sloping display relationship as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The rugs R are clamped in position by a clamp bar 13 disposed so as to extend across the top of the stack of rugs immediately above the flat top surface ll, and this clamp bar 13 is held in its downward or clamping position by means including a pair of vertically extended headed clamp rods 14 that extend downwardly through the clamp bar 13 and are secured adjustably and releasably within the body of the stand 10 by means that will be described in further detail hereinafter. The clampbar 13 serves to clamp the stack of rugs R downwardly so as to engage the lowermost rug R with upstanding anchoring pins 13P of a pin bar 113 that extends across the surface 11 beneath and parallel to the clamp bar 13. In the portion of the stand that is rearwardly and below the level of the top surface 11, an upwardly opening pocket 15 is provided into which the depending rear ends of the rugs R may be extended so as to thus conceal any unevenness that may be present in respect to these rear edges of the rugs.

In affording the structure that has thus been described, the stand 10 is provided with a rectangular bottom frame or base member 16 that comprises a pair of wooden side members 168 and front and rear wooden members 16F and 16R, these members being connected at their corners by half-lap joints 16] of conventional form. The bottom frame 16 serves as a mounting for a plurality of casters 17 which facilitate movement of the display stand in the showroom.

The frame 16 serves as a support upon which the other elements of the structure are mounted, and as will be evident in Figs. 3 and 4, each end member 16S has a side wall 18 formed from relatively strong material such as plywood, these side walls 18 being secured as by nailing to the outside edges of the members 16S and extending upwardly and from the respective side members 165 and affording the primary weight supporting portions of the stand 10. The side walls 18 are formed so as to have a forwardly and downwardly sloping surface corresponding to the sloping surface 12 and also to have a horizontal upper portion corresponding to the form or location of the horizontal portion 11. Rearwardly of this horizontal portion, the upper edges of the side wall 18 is in each instance rounded in a rearward and downward direction as indicated at 118R in Fig. 3 so as to merge with a vertical rear edge 18R. At its forward edge, each side wall 18 has a short vertical edge portion against which a relatively heavy front wall 19 formed from wood is secured, this front wall 19 being also secured to the forward edge of the forward base member 16F.

In forming the weight-supporting surfaces 11 and 12, a relatively heavy cross beam 20 is extended between and connected to the side walls 18. In the present instance, the beam 20 is of an inverted box-like shape and is formed from wood by a top member and a pair of downwardly extending side members or flanges 1201? and 129R, and these members are connected by cross members 120C. The front flange 120F is fixed to the house a locking means as will be described. The beam 20 also serves to support a plurality of spaced girders 21 that serve as a supporting means for the surfacing; material that affords the sloping surface 12. Thus, the are secured at 121 to the forward side ofthe menses beam 20, and at their forward ends the girders 21 are rested on the forward frame member 16F and bear forwardly against the inside surface of the front wall member 19. The end girders 21 are disposed against and secured to the inner faces of the side walls 18 as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, the top of the beam 20 and the tops of the forwardly and downwardly sloping girders 21 serve to support a covering member 12F that affords the surface 12 and the surface 11 and which may be formed from a thin plywood of a blending grade. The sheet 12F affords a finished facing for the sloping surface 12, and in a similar manner a facing 219 may be provided on the front wall 19.

Just forwardly of the rear face of the beam 20, each 7 side wall 18 has a vertical strip 23 extended downward- A Wall of the pocket 15. The pocket has a bottom wall 28 that is secured on the horizontal strips 24, while a front wall 29 for the pocket 15 is secured to the rear edges of the strips 23 and extends from the bottom wall 28 along the rear face of the beam to a point just beneath the rear edge of the covering member 12F. If

desired, a strip 24L may be extended along the forward side of the rear wall 27 beneath the bottom wall 28, and a strip 23L may be extended along the forward face of the lower edge of the wall 29 to give added rigidity to these walls.

The clamp bar 13 is held in place by a clamping unit 30 that is mounted within end clearance spaces that are formed as hereinabove described at the ends of the beam 20 and which clamping unit is of the general type disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,137,748, patented November 22, 1938. As disclosed in such patent, the downwardly extended clamp rod such as the rod 14 is releasably held in its downward or effective position by a generally horizontal clamp plate 31 that is spring urged through a tilting movement toward its clamping or retaining position, and which has a horizontally projecting end that may be urged downwardly to release the clamp rod 14. In the present instance, the clamp plates 31 are arranged to be released when desired by means of vertical release pins 32 that have their headed upper ends exposed on the surface 11 and which may be pressed downwardly to impart releasing movement to the clamp bars 30.

With the arrangement that is thus afforded, a plurality of rugs R may be located on the sloping surface 12 of the stand 10 with their forward edges in a properly aligned relationship, and the rugs may extend rearwardly beyond the rear edge of the horizontal surface 11 and then downwardly so that the rear ends of the rugs are located within the pocket 15, thus to be concealed from the customers. Through this arrangement rugs of different sizes may be conveniently and neatly displayed.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a display stand that enables rugs to be displayed in an unusually convenient manner and in such a way as to minimize the floor space required. Moreover, the rugs may be viewed with greater case than heretofore, and the salesman who must turn the rugs may do this without undue exertion. Furthermore, differences in the size of the rugs do not with the present display stand impart an untidy appearance to the display as a whole, the uneven ends of such rugs being concealed at all times.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be under stood that this is capable of variation and modification, 1 therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims. 1

I claim:

1. In a floor mounted rug display rack adapted in particular to conserve on floor space for displaying rug samples of given dimensions, a horizontal base frame having front, rear and side edges, 9. pair of side walls mounted on and extended upwardly from the respective side edges of said base and formed to afford similar vertical rear edges and flat horizontal upper edge portions located adjacent to but spaced forwardly from said rear edges of said side walls and said side walls having downwardly and forwardly sloping upper edges extending from said upper edge portions toward said front edge of said base, a cross beam carried by and connecting said side walls at substantially said fiat upper edge portions, said cross beam having means affording a flat horizontal upper surface substantially in the plane of said upper edge portions, a plurality of spaced girders extending from said beam and downwardly and forwardly to said front edge of said base frame at the same slope as said sloping upper edges of said side walls, a substantially smooth, flat, unobstructed cover sheet carried on said girders and said sloping edges of said side walls and said fiat horizontal upper surface to afford a forwardly and downwardly slopmg display surface on which a stack of rugs may be supported and displayed with intermediate portions of said rugs supported by said beam and the rear ends of such rugs hanging downwardly at the rear edge of said beam and forwardly of said rear edges of said side walls, a rear wall secured to said rear edges of said side walls to cover and conceal the depending rear edges of such rugs, and clamping means mounted on said rack above said beam for clamping rug samples to said rack.

2. In a floor mounted rug display rack adapted in particular to conserve floor space in displaying rug samples of given dimensions, means affording a substantially horizontal base frame having front, rear and side edges immediately above floor level, a cross beam supported in a substantially elevated position above said base frame, a pair of spaced apart one-piece side walls having forwardly and sharply downwardly sloping upper edges and having rear edges, means affording an unobstructed downwardly and forwardly sloping one-piece display wall supported on the upper edges of said side walls and extended from said beam to the front edge of said base frame close to floor level and on which a stack of rug samples may be supported and displayed with the rear ends of sa1d samples overhanging and depending below said beam forwardly of the rear edges of said side walls and with the front ends of said samples terminating adjacent said front edge of said base frame, a rear wall joining the rear edges of said side walls, another rear wall forwardly of and substantially parallel to the first-named rear wall and extended between said side walls forwardly of the rear edges, said two rear walls defining a pocket into which the dependent ends of said samples may be concealed, and a clamping bar mounted on said display rack above and substantially parallel to said beam for clamping said rug samples to the display rack.

3. A display rack according to claim 2 wherein rug samples are clamped in place and displayed thereon and have ends thereof concealed in said pocket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 796,123 Hinkley Aug. 1, 1905 1,138,488 Kime May 4, 1915 1,241,768 Rush Oct. 2, 1917 1,720,879 H. S. Best July 16, 1929 2,045,828 Borroughs June 30, 1936 2,137,748 Best Nov. 22, 1938 2,335,379 Bersin et a1. Nov. 30, 1943 2,643,774 Patterson June 30, 1953 

